


A Stretch Too Far

by Frangipanidownunder



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 22:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11930646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frangipanidownunder/pseuds/Frangipanidownunder
Summary: For the prompt: Are you really taking his side, right now?





	A Stretch Too Far

Her nails are leaving imprints on her palms. She locks her jaw and draws in a long breath. Skinner is breathing fire.  
“Are you really taking his side right now? Because I expect better of you, Agent Scully.”  
“Sir,” she says, plotting out her breaths, “on this occasion, Agent Mulder is right.”  
Skinner’s eyes narrow.  
Mulder’s shoulders turn towards her and she hears his small exhalation of surprise.  
“I know I don’t very often say that at this stage of an investigation but there is ample evidence to suggest his theory is correct. You need to act.”  
Standing now, Skinner pushes his fists into the jotter pad on his desk and leans towards her. She holds her ground. Doesn’t move. Doesn’t flinch when his voice booms out at her.  
“You do not tell me how to do my job, you do not tell me to act. You are my subordinates and you will behave as such. Do you understand?”  
She swallows back a retort and simply nods, turning to the door and leaving Mulder to follow. As her hand turns the handle, Skinner speaks again.  
“I expect an update on my desk at 0800 tomorrow. Now get out of my sight.”  
Looking back over her shoulder, she watches Skinner sink into his chair. And then she watches Mulder pull the gun from his holster and shoot the Assistant Director.  
Mulder leans back in his chair, feet on desk. He rolls a pencil between his fingers. She sits and picks the lint off her skirt. She can taste the fizz of anger at the back of her throat and wonders if the flush on her face has faded.  
“You didn’t really have to do that, Mulder.”  
“No, it made a mess, didn’t it? Big guys bleed a lot.”  
“Do you think I should go back up there?”  
“And do what?”  
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Offer to help clean up?”  
He throws the pencil into the air and it sticks to the ceiling. He cracks his knuckles and grins. “That’s not your job, Scully.”  
“I know, but I feel kind of responsible.”  
“Why? You didn’t shoot him.”  
“No, but I aided you.”  
“What, by telling him you thought I was right?” He gets up and walks around the desk, bends over and kisses her with a passion that makes her gasp. “I just wanted to say thank you for that, Scully. I know how hard it is to admit something like that.”  
She licks her lips, enjoying the salty tang of seeds. “Mulder? Is this real?”  
He kisses her again, hard and presses his fingers into her nape. Her nipples tighten. “Feels pretty real to me, Scully.”  
“Mulder, you just shot Skinner.”  
He looks at her, cocks his head, breathes out and sits back against the desk. “I did.”  
“Why did you do that?” she asks.  
“Because he knows.”  
She reaches out and touches his knees. “What? What does he know, Mulder?”  
“That I love you, Scully.”  
A small laugh escapes her. “And that’s worth murdering the AD?”  
He’s puzzled and he quirks a brow. “Don’t you know, Scully?”  
“Know what?”  
“That I would do anything for you. Anything.”  
“Including murdering a federal agent. Our boss. In his office. In broad daylight. With your own weapon. Because you love me. None of this is making sense.”  
“It makes perfect sense, Scully. You mean that much to me. It’s simple really. I can’t believe I haven’t done it before.”  
She stands, hands on hips. “Mulder. I think we’re still in the mushroom.”  
“What mushroom?”  
“The one that’s ingesting us. We’re hallucinating. None of this is real. I bet if we went upstairs, Skinner would still be in his office, complaining about our 302s and your lack of paperwork. We’re still at Brown Mountain. We’re still underground.”  
“No Scully. This is real. I would kill for you. I love you. Is that so hard to believe?”  
She shakes her head. “No, Mulder, no,” she whispers. “I love you too, but this just can’t be real. This is not how it’s supposed to be.”  
As they push the door open, Scully holds her breath. She can smell the coppery tang of blood and hear the hammering of her heart in her ears. Skinner is in his chair, leaning back. Mulder walks further forward, almost up to the desk.  
“Welcome back,” Skinner says. “You both look a lot cleaner than the last time I saw you.”  
“So do you, Sir,” Mulder says. Scully smiles and joins him.  
“Agent Scully, how are you?”  
“I’m fine, Sir. We’re just here to deliver the report, and to thank you again, for finding us.”  
Skinner takes the report and flips through it. He frowns then looks up. “What finally made you realise that you were still being ingested? What was the trigger?”  
Scully tucks her chin to her chest but she catches Mulder’s sly grin anyway.  
“It was when Scully said that I was right, Sir. Of all the strange things we saw and heard, that was just a stretch too far.”


End file.
